A Bard's Tale
by Dreamingsinger
Summary: The adventures of a woman bard in her quest to avenge the death of her mentor. She must find the evil mage who may have done it, and learn alot about herself in the process. Including lessons about love. Rated T for scenes of mild violance. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

This my first fan fic, so please be nice to me about it. It is based loosely on the character I play in Dungeons and Dragons. This is an idea I have had for a while, although at this point, I don't quite know where it is going. The end is still not clear to me, but as with all my writing, it will come to me.

Disclaimer; I do not own D&D. I only own the characters in this story.

A Bard's Tale

Chapter one. The storm

Blazewind ducked quickly into the run down old tavern, and let the rickety old door close with a squeak behind her. She looked around the shabby, dimly let place at the wooden tables scattered around the room, most of them all occupied by people of differant races, and at the bar along the back, with a tall man behind it. She took an empty table near the bar and set her things on the floor, using her hands to force the rainwater from her red hair. Her two long braids were flat from the rain, and her bright colored clothes were soaked. She took off her green cloak and hung it over a chair, hoping that it might at least begin to dry, before she put it on again.

"I see you were caught in the rain mylady," said the bartender, looking up from the bar. Blazewind nooded.

"I suppose you will be needing a drink," the bartender said next.

"Yes, I would like a drink. Perhaps some domestic beer."

The man walked away, and soon returned with her glass, which he placed on the table. "Colorful clothing you have there," he commented. "You are a traveling bard?" Blazewind nodded, and the man went on. "Perhapes you would care to entertain my wet patrons until they dare to venture back out into this weather. I would bet that you could earn a good bit from this crowd for your trouble."

"I will be happy to sing a few ballads, and play a few songs," Blazewind said, as she sipped her drink. She was greatly surprised that this man was asking her to play in his tavern. She could recall so many times of having to practacally beg for the right to earn her living in so many of these little towns and villages. "I don't think I am going very far tonight. Is there an inn in the village that might have a room for me for the night. A place to sleep and wait out the storm?" Thunder banged in the distance, and Blazewind jumped to her feet with fright.

In the corner, two small halfling men, who were both under four feet tall, and both louding acting out a story they were telling to their very small female table mate, laughed at the young performer's nerves.

"You think yourself to be roadworthy and yet you can't even handle a little thunder" one said, putting his drink down with a loud bang. His companions laughed.

"She might be fine on the road," said the other tiny little man, "that is untill the rain begins."

Blazewind felt that she could easily give both of the men a piece of her mind. She reached for the sowrd that she wore at her waist, and thought of shaking them up a little. _The nerve of such little people to laugh at an angry traveler. _She changed her mind about doing something like that and instead thought of a song to sing for the people. She knew in her heart that she was a performer, not a fighter. Besides, those men were so tiny.

"I was not afraid," said blurted out to the men, as she finished her drink. "It just caught me by surprise." She would not give them the satisfaction of knowing that she had been jumpy in thounder storms since she was a little girl.

"About that inn, my good man," she said looking back to the bartender. He gave her the directions to a small local inn, and refilled her glass. She nodded her thanks as he clapped his hands together, trying to get the attention of the crowd.

"If you would give this pretty young lady bard some of your attention, she has agreed to sing, and play for us all tonight." The crowd of mostly drunk man, and a few woman, half of them in fighters armor, clapped their hands, and cheered noisilly.

Blazewind took her wooden panflute from her bag, and began to play. The two noisy halflings had finally stopped their disruptive behaviour, and no one else made much sound either. She played untill half the crowd was gone, and the rest looked ready to depart from the place.

"I must go to the inn to sleep right away, and be back out on the open road tomorrow," she said, "but I will sing one last song before I do. This was written for me six years ago by a man who knew I would sing it the way he told me that he heard it in his head. He was the one who taught me the ways of the road, and most everything else I know. The name of the song is 'The Ballad of Freedom.'" The crowd sat, staring at her in great attention as she sang fer final song of the night, and at the end, even the disruptive halflings clapped their tiny hands together as they got up to leave.

Blazewind could still hear the rain pouring down from the heavens in huge droplets, as she sat up in her bed, unable to sleep. The thunder was worse now than ever, and she shook her head in disbelief at herself, for still feeling so afraid of it. It was after all only the weather, and could not hurt her. But still, she was afraid. The day shew had seen both of her parents bodies, laying dead in the doorway to their old home, it had been in the middle of a thunderstorm. No wonder she was afraid of it, with a memory like that still freash in her mind after nearly twelve years. She played her panflute for awhile, thinking that there was never any harm in more practice. She began to play the ballad of freedom and as she did, she began to think back to the man who had written it for her.

"No one in the whole land will ever play, or sing this as well as you," Jamis StormyBrooke had said years ago, as he taught her the melody. She could now recall his bright, playfull smile, which reached nearly to his pointed ears. She recalled with a start that it had indeed been five years since she had last seen him alive, and as she went back to her song, she once again swore to agenge his death.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two. Looking back.

Blazewind had never been close to her noble parents. They had left her, for most of her early years to be raised by the household servents, while they attended parties, made sure they were known in the town, and just enjoyed the high life. She remembered many times wishing for a little sibling to share her lonely childhood with, but her mother was determined to never have another baby. She had always claimed that one had slowed her down enough. Her father had always limited her activities to sitting on the bacony with a small amount of female type toys; which she hated, and to music; which she loved. Her parents had many times, arranged for her to play and sing at their many parties for all the local well to do people around the naighbouring towns.

The day her parents had both died in the doorway, she had simply not known what to do. She had slipped out of the house, and wandered into the woods behind the town; the same woods that she had always been warned never to enter. Once she had found a large tree to climb to the top of, she had sat and cried for what must have been hours. Finally, she had just come to accept that someone must have killed her father for his wealth, taking her mother's life too, just because she had been there. The holdhold servants would all go away to find other jobs, and she was all alone. After quickly returning for some things, she set off to begin a life for her self at the age of eight. She learned for herself how to take what she needed from all the places that she went, and how to avoid being seen by some adult, who might want to do who knew what with a wandering girl.

She was dressed in a set of boys peasent clothes, and had been alone, wandering the countryside and forests for two months, when she first met Jamis StormyBrooke. Jamis was a bard, traveling with a small troope. He had stepped away from the other performers at a nighttime reststop on the roadside, and she had simply walked up behind him and pulled lightly on his shirtsleeve. The young half-elf bard had turned to see the small child standing in dirty clothes, with road dust on her pale cheeks. He looked at her with a look of surprise for several seconds, before his eyes went back to the road ahead.

"Yes?" he said, speaking common.

"I... I ummmm... I want..."

"Yes?" The bard said with a surprising amount of patiance.

"I hoped that you would... let me learn your trade from you," the child said. She waited nearviously for him to say no. She knew that most of the bards in the land would not take a student, because they were too afraid of having to compete for an audiance. A student could grow up and take his fans. This one however was already with a group, and she figured that there may be a chance that he did not fight over territorry.

"I might consider taking a student... if I thought she had a chance of success." He said looking her over, "...if I thought she had what it takes."

"Do you think I have what it takes?"

He looked her over again, as she stepped back nevriously. "Ummmm... No... Probably not. You are a nervious little thing. A bard needs confinance, and self assurance."

"I could do it," Blazewind had said. "Please just give me a chance. Music is all I can do that would ever pay off some day. Let me sing for you."

"Alright. I don't suppose it would hurt anything to let you try."

"All of you be ready for an extra person with us when we leave in the morning," The half-elf said to the gathered group later that evening. "We are taking the girl with us." He turned to her. "What is your name anyway?"

"Abagail Ellen Jefferson, daughter of the house of the duke of Lindale. Most people just call me Abby."

"Oh my..." said the bard, taking a step backward. "I am sorry my lady. I had no idea who you were in those old clothes. I never thought a young noble would want to be a traveling entertainer."

"I am not a noble," young Blazewind said with determination. "I was a nobleman's child, that's all. I will never act like a noble."

"Well," said the man, "Abby is not a good name for a bard. Hmmm... you have red hair. How about we just call you Blazewind?"

"Okey," the little girl said, liking the idea of not being Abagail of Lindale any longer.

"Well, my name is Jamis StormyBrooke, and these are my travel companions." He introduced her to the two male elves, and the human woman, who were all gathered around the two in curiousity.

Blazewind's life from that day on was spent traveling along at a good pace on Jamis' horse. The other bards fallowed on their's and Blazewind rode in front of Jamis looking at parts of the country that she had once never dreamed she would see. Jamis gave her music lessons every time they were stopped for a night, and sometimes he would teach her other things. Things that she learned on the road, like gathering a crowd, and telling a story. After about a year, he began to let her play music, and tell stories of the road, in the villages with the rest of the group. She was allowed to keep all of the copper coins that she earned from the crowds the gathered to watch the performers, and soon she was earning a good bit of money. The times of nobility and lonliness were far behind her, and soon she began to forget her parents. Most of her nights were spent laying in the tall grass at the side of the road, wraped in her travel bedding, staring up at a million stars untill she fell asleep. It was a life she would never have traded for anything in the world.

Nearly a year and a half had gone by, when Blazewind was awoken by the sound of loud voices. She sat up on the grass and looked around a little to see the two elves in the group advancing toward Jamis.

"I am mearly stating that the reason your little student is the way she is has to do with her being a human," said one of them, as the other nodded his head in agreement.

"Everyone knows that humans are not the smartest, most interesting creatures..."

"Please stop insulting humans... both of you," Jamis said with a hint of anger in his voice.

Annette, the human woman who traveled with them, sat on the ground at the other end of the small camp, busy practicing music, and ignoring the dispute.

"Well I am entitled to an opinion," said one of the men, as the other one backed down, and went to sit against a tree.

"Not when you decide to insault people," Jamis answered, his voice becoming louder.

"Well I tell you... humans are the most ignorant, selfish, spoiled, not to mention funny looking people I ever..."

"You be quiet!" Jamis shouted, with more rage than Blazewind had ever seen. She was glad that her teacher's anger was not directed toward her.

Jamis threw his arms forward, using his body weight to send the small framed elf flying backward. He went sprawling backward across the grass, and Annette, who had begun to pay attention, fell over laughing. Her green hat fell off, and her blond hair fell over her shoulders.

"Stupid clumsy drunk," she laughed.

"My father was a human!" Jamis shouted. "So is Blazewind. I will not have you insaulting my child. Now get up you drunken fool, and go to bed before someone gets hurt."

The drunk bard stumbled off to his bed, and Blazewind ran to find Jamis, who was sitting alone in a grove of trees. She pulled on his sleeve as she sat across from him on the ground.

"Are you mad?" she asked in childhood innocence.

"Not at you," he answered. "That man is really beginning to annoy me. He is so often drunk out of his mind. His brother backs him up in a fight untill I am winning, then he runs. Annette thinks the whole thing is just plain funny. Sometimes I don't know what to do about the whole lot of them. Sometimes I want to go out on my own.. without those... people."

"If you did that... what would happen to me?"

"Well, you would come with me of course. I don't think I am leaving though. Even though they are they most irritating people on Earth, they are still my friends. Out here, on the road, any friends you can get are something you need to hang onto. Our group is like a strange little family, and even though they may act like they do, it doesen't mean we would not all fight on the same side if we ever had to."

"I suppose that's true," Blazewind said. She was still thinking of what he had said earlier.

"Jamis... Do you really think I am your child now?"

"Well yes I do. I am the one who is teaching you to make a life for your self, and the one who takes care of you. I guess that means a lot."

"I guess it does. Jamis... how come you never got married and had your own family?"

"I'm not that old, you know. There is still time for me to do that. I don't think I ever will though."

"Why not?"

"I like to come and go as I please, and travel where I want to. A wife would tie me to one place. I don't even want to think of children."

"You could marry a woman bard. She would enjoy a life on the road... I've got it. You should fall in love with Annette."

Jamis laughed. "Blazewind it is not that easy. She and I are not the type to love each other. She is almost like my sister, besides, I don't quite want to be in love with any woman."

"Why not?"

"Good heavens. Children ask a lot of questions sometimes."

"I ask because it is the only way to get answers," Blazewind said smartly.

"Alright. You win. I don't want to fall in love because I don't think I could. I have gotten used to being an outsider everywhere I go."

"Why?"

"Because my father was a human, and my mother is an elf. My father died when I was a baby, and my mother raised me with the help of her mother. My mother had three sisters who all married elf men, and had pure blooded children. I ended up with eight other children in the family who all picked on me. I was also the reason that my poor mother could never marry a good man. No man would marry the mother of a human. I left as soon as I was old enough to go. I promised to write to my mother, and grandparents when I could, and I went. I was tired of being the family's embarassment. I wanted my mother to have a chance at a life."

"I assume then that you hope I will marry a human man one day, so that I am with my own kind," Blazewind said, looking up at the starry night sky.

"No. I don't think you should limit yourself. There are a lot of good people out there in the world, and all of the races are mixing more now than ever. I think you should marry the man you love, and who loves you back, no matter what race he is."  
"Do you think I will ever get married?"

"I think you will if you want to."

"Do you think I am pretty enough to find a good man? I mean, I wear boys entertainer's clothes, and my hair is so red.."

"You are only ten. I don't think you need to worry yet. I'm sure you will grow up to be a pretty young lady."

Blazewind went to sleep that night with visions in her head of the man she would marry. His image was not clear to her, but she imagined being in love. The wild little girl was slowly but surely becoming a woman a little at a time.

She was thirteen years old when the boy joined the little group of bards. He was fifteen years old, according to Jamis. The boy, who's name turned out to be Lenard, was a human like her. He was tall and very thin, with dark hair a little on the long side, which fell forward, into his eyes. It took her a good while of traveling with him before she saw that his eyes were a very dark brown color... nearly black. He was a wonderful harp player, and Blazewind would sit listening to him play when he set to practicing after camp was made each night. She did not tell him that fom what she had heard, he was an awful storyteller. She thought that he was lucky to be in a group, and not to have to work alone. He did not have very good tales to tell the people. He would just have to leave that to her. Blazewind had always been good at it.

She began to believe that it was him that she would love one day, and that he would love her too. _This is silly, _she told herself. _I have traveled with him for two months and not spoken five words with him._ She made up her mind to talk with him one day, when he sat against a tree, tightening his harpstrings. She watched him for a few moments as he sat, with the small insturment on his lap, his eyes intent on his work.

"Hello," she said, sitting near him on the grass. He looked up, said not a word, and went back to the strings.

"You are a very good player," Blazewind chattered on. "I could never play a harp. Jamis tried several times to teach me but... I am a flute player, and of course a singer, and a storyteller. I can dance a little too, how about you?"

"I can when I want to," the boy said quietly, " ... which is not often." He kept on working.

"I dance and sing even when there is no one to dance and sing for," Blazewind chattered. I love to do it. Jamis says that it siuts my name, Blazewind. He says that I am a lot like a little fireball. It is not only because of my red hair. My mother had red hair too. Do you look like your parents?"

"I don't remember," said the boy quietly.

"It's too bad you don't remember," Blazewind said. But then again I suppose it worked out okey. You have a family now. Jamis told me once that we are all a little family. He said that..." The boy got up and walked away, into the woods.

"I don't think Lenard likes me very much," Blazewind said to Annette that evening. The woman just looked at her.

"He is a young man," she said. "He does not know how to talk to young woman yet. I'm sure he likes you just fine." She was drinking beer with the two elves and handed the young woman a glass. Blazewind had never drank before, but soon settled in for a night of beer, coversation, and laughter with people who had now begun to think of her as an adult woman.

"Annette, I don't know why you had to give her alcohol," Jamis said early in the morning. Blazewind heard him speaking, and opened her eyes to see that the sun was just starting to rise.

"She is a woman now," said Annette in defence. "She is old enough to drink if she wants."

"I hardly think so," Jamis argued.

"I think she had reached womanhood monthes ago, and you just want to deny it, because you like to think of her as a little girl who needs taking care of. Soon she will likely leave us, and try to branch out on her own."

"I doubt that she has the urge to go anywhere. She seems still perfectly happy with us."

"She is already of marrying age, Jamis," Annette said suddenly. "That is why I asked that boy to join our troope."

"Huh?" was all Jamis could say. It was not very often that he was rendered speachless, and now was one of those rare times.

"I thought they might get along well, and probably fall in love," Annette said. She will need a good man to share her life. She is like the rest of us. She needs somone to love her."

"I don't think you matchmaking is working out very well," Jamis said, not seeing Blazewind sit up, with her head pounding. "He has not said a word more than he has to, to her. I don't think you know either of them as well as you think."

Lenard had a small, strange round object in his posession, that he would pull out of his pocket when he thought know one was looking. He would hold it up to the sunlight and inspect the gold surface, before shoving it back into his pocket. Blazewind saw the object when he thought no one did. She decided to just mind her own business. She knew that he must have stolen it, but most bards, including herself would steal a little when they had to... or some of them, when they simply felt like it. She could have cared less what the object was. Her music and stories were much more important. One night she saw him going through the pockets of Jamis' jacket, which he had left on the ground before going to sleep. She watched him for a moment, and determined that he not stolen anything._ That was odd,_ she thought, and decided to tell him in the morning. The morning however, was never to be.

She awoke just before the crack of dawn to find a figure retreating into the woods. She watched the dark shape ran into the trees, and suddenly disapear. He must be some sort of mage, she thought, as she scrambled from her covers. She looked around the camp. Annette a\nd the two elves were still seemingly asleep, and the boy was nowhere to be seen. Blazewind looked to her right, and ran over to Jamis, who lay in a strange position, face down on the ground, several feet from his bed. She could see the blood before she reached him, and when she got to him, she could see that he was dead. As she turned him over, blood continued to pour from his mouth. His body lay lifelessly on the grass. Blazewind srceamed in grief and horror. Her high pitched cries of terror soon awoke the other three bards.

"Where is the boy?" Blazewind demamded to no one. He is dead because that stupid, evil boy planted some artifact in his pocket. He was killed bty a mage who wanted it back at any cost."

"We can't no that for sure," Annette said , trying to stay calm. "Anyone could have killed him. The boy could have gotten scared and ran from the killer. Perhapes he went for help."

"What should I do?" Blazewind asked, stricken with greif.

"What we all do," Annette answered. "Play, sing, earn a living. We are all going our seperate ways, and you must too."

Before Young Blazewind left the camp that morning, she took the sowrd from Jamis' belt, and attached it to her own.

"I will avenge you," she said, as she walked off. "I sware I will one day."


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you for the reviews; Truegold-Dragonstar, yes it would seem that everyone had died, but it will get better later on. Trust me on this. I don't have a spell check on my computer for some reason. I am working on it. Sometimes I just get going, and I miss typos.

Pinewoodpine, thank you. I am glad you like the story. I will have more in this chapter. Back to the story's preasent time in this one. We shall now fallow the adult Blazewind on to her next anventure.

P.S. readers, I have never done any writing that takes place in the middle ages before. Normaly I write sience fiction. I will try my best to keep things old fashioned.

Chapter Three. Danger and rescue.

Blazewind waited out the rain for a day, and another night before cheaking out of the inn. She arrived downstairs in the small lobby, and set her traveling gear on the floor.

"Cheaking out today, I see," said the innkeeper, who looked up from behind the old wooden desk.

"Yes," Blazewind replied, dropping a few silver coins into his hand.

"Carefull on those roads out there. Very muddy. You walking or riding?"

"Walking. I like to walk. I like to enjoy the journey, and going at my own pace."

"Well watch out, and stay on the roads. There are said to be some dangerous creatures out there this time of year. I heard a rumor last night about a..." He walked away to answer to someone calling his name from a back storeroom. blazewind, deciding to not wait for him to return, simply picked up her gear and walked out onto the muddy road.

For a while she wandered along the side of the muddy road, dodging puddles when she had to. Soon, she started jumping over the puddles playfully, splashing little bits of mud around her feet whenever she landed. She was very much enjoying the chance to play and be young, but soon, she tired of her game. She walked along on the loney road playing her wooden panflute. Blazewind was living what she believed to be a great life. The road was her only true companion, and the only friend she truely wanted in her life. She hummed a song out loud as she strolled along. Music was in her head it seemed almost every waking second of each day. Her mind and body were forever full of song, and she would often dance to the silient music that only she could hear. Blazewind had reached of true adulthood several years ago, but still, she refused to fully grow up. She was still happy being young while she could. The young bard grew tired of the muddy road, which seemed to go nowhere, and decided to cut a path across the forest. She knew that there had to be a sheltered space somewhere among a grove of trees, where she would be able to sit and rest, out of the mud. She finally came to a place like one she had been looking for, and she sat against an oak tree to eat some rolls that she carried in her bag. She did not quite hear the low growl that came from deeper in the woods.

The animal had nearly reached her by the time she saw it, and she threw her head head, and leaped to her feet in shock. She inched backward slowly hoping the ravanous black wolf had not seen her. She very quickly knew though that if that one had not, then the other one, walking straight for her, surely had. It licked it's lips and snarled a challange at a third wolf, who was creeping up behind her, snapping it's teeth. Blazewind screamed and tried to climb up into the tree behind her, as one of the animals siezed the back of her pants in it's teeth. She made a grab for her sowrd, and swung it wildly at the beasts trying to frighten them away. The animal in the front of the group backed away a little, but the other two would not give up that easilly. They began to advance on her, and she began to yell loudly, hoping to intimadate them. It had amost no effect. The leading wolf caught her by her clothing again, and she fell from the tree. Her baggage, and weapon went flying across the ground, and her head stuck the trunk of a nearby tree. She felt the bone in her leg snap as her body came to rest in the dirt. She fell unconcious from the bump on the head. She knew then that her life would soon be over.

"Oh my," a distant sounding female voice said. "Everyone come here. There is someone over here."

"Huh?" said a male voice, fallowed by the sound of running footsteps, crunching over drying leaves. "Geez... she looks badly hurt."

"Ya know..." said another male, "I would guess that those wolves got her. Remember the ones we saw on the way in here?"

"Those wolves would've got us too, if Ravahana hadn't been able to chase them away with her fireballs."

"Of al the close calls we had had on this adventure..."

"Hey," said the female, "can one of you strong man help me turn her over? I am not strong enough to do it right, and I don't want to hurt her trying."

"You are just to tiny for this kind of work Rava," said one of the men, as he pushed Blazewind onto her back. "Is she awake?"

"I don't know," said the woman. "I think... somewhat."

Blazewind slowly managed to open her eyes and look around, as her blurred vision slowly cleared. She saw that three people, two men, and a woman kneeled beside her on the ground. The woman was a very small halfling, and wore a very small set of light armor over her blue dress. She held a wooden staff in one hand, and now was using it to balance herself as she kneeled, with her weight on the backs of her feet. The two men were both human, and both dressed in simple mens clothing. One wore what looked like some kind of fighting armor, and the other was dressed in dark colored travelers clothes.

The small woman, who seemed to be a mage, and must have been the one thowing fireballs at the wolves, held a water container out to Blazewind, who carefull took it, spilling some water before managing to drink some.

"Where is Belfire," the halfling mage asked looking over her shoulder.

"Don't know," said the man in fighter's armor, "He seems to be wandering in the woods again. I don't know why a cleric would want to spend so much time in nature, but he does."

"Belfire!" the mage called into the trees. "We need your help, quickly."

Blazewind, now quite wide awake, looked at the group nerviously. She rubbed her aching head with one hand, and tried to sit herself up. She screamed in pain as she realized that her leg was broken, and fell back to the ground helplessly.

"Don't move," the mage said, placing a small hand on Blazewind's cheast. "You seem to be very injured."

"What? Where are... huh?" Blazewind muttered, in confusion. She stopped speaking, finding it to be too great an effort. She would just have to trust these people. She knew she was not going anywhere under her own power anytime soon. She felt that she was growing tired again,at the same time as she heard another set of feetsteps running through the trees. She forced herself to remain awake as a young, blond haired man kneeled beside her.

"She is in trouble alright," he told the mage. "It's looks as though something tried to attack her. She might have fallen form that tree behind her."

"Can you heal her?" the mage asked.

"I think I can," the young man replied. "She looks pretty frightened though. I think she is very confused."

Blazewind wanted to sleep, yet she knew she should not let herelf. She did not know who these people were, and if she could trust them. Her head was however aching worse then it ever had, and the bright sunlight above her seemed to make it ten times worse.

"My head... hurts... " she muttered. She put both hands on her head, and the young man took them, and placed them at her sides.

"Please, trust me," he said. Blazewind, suddenly unable to remain awake, dozed back off to sleep.

She felt strangely better, when she opened her eyes, and looked around again. She looked over and saw that the blond haired cleric sitting on the grass next to her. She looked at her intently and now began to take more notice of his appearance. He was dressed in simple loose fitting clothing, and had taken off his footwear, and sat barefoot on the ground. His blond hair was long, and tied back neatly. She then noticed his elf ears for the first time. She was embarrased at having not noticed before that the cleric was an elf.

"Glad to see that you are finaly awake," he said, speaking common.

"Thank you for saving my life," Blazewind blurted, looking at his blue eyes.

"Think nothing of it, my lady," the young man said. "As a cleric, I am sworn to help all of those in need. Do you feel any better?"

"Yes. I think I do," Blazewind answered. She noted a slight in her head, but also knew that she felt nearly normal. She was aware of the fact that the sun was just barely up, over the trees. "How long did I sleep?"

"Almost fifteen hours," the cleric told her. "I think you must be well rested by now." He pulled some rolls and cheese, as well as a water jug, and offered them to her. "Hungry?"

Blazewind nodded, taking some food. "What are you and your party doing way out here?" she asked, sitting herself up against a tree.

"Going home," the cleric answered, nibbling on a roll. "We have traveled together for the last year, seing the world, seeking adventure. We are all homsick and lonely for the lands we call home, and are returning to them soon. We shall travel together to the town of lanorewood and then we shall all part ways. It will sure be good to be home again. Say, my lady... what is your name anyway?"

"Blazewind," the bard told him, and the young elf cleric held out a hand to her.

"Belfire Merryweather," he said. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Blazewind." He gestured toward the rest of his party, who were sitting feather in the woods, talking to one another.

"These are my party," he said. "The little woman is Ravahana, our mage. The fighter is Davros, and the rouge is Kevril."

Blazewind muttered a hello to the group as they came to join them on the grass, by the tree.

"Are you going to come with us?" Ravahana asked, as the party left camp the next morning. "It would do no good at all to leave you alone in the forest. Those wolves could return at any time."

"Without her here to throw more fireballs, they could get you for sure, if they did come back," Davros said. "We would all feel better if you came along."

"It would give me a chance to perform for people," Blazewind answered, after a moments consideration. "The thought of being here if those creatures came back is positively frightfull" She joined the group for a quick breakfast, before they headed back out on the road. Ravahana, who could not have waighed more than fifty pounds, rode with Davros, on his horse, and Blazewind rode the one that she had been riding. She was not a very good rider at first, having only ever riden in front of, and later, behind Jamis. Soon though, she got the hang of it, and could keep up with the party of adventurers well enough to avoid slowing them down. Many times during the three day trip to the town of Lanorewood, Belfire would let his horse fall back to ride beside Blazewind, who fallowed nicely behind the others. She caught him several times looking at her shyly, when he must have thought she had not seen him.

"What is your name?" he asked her on the second day of travel. They trotted along at a slow pace, down the dusty road.

"Blazewind," she replied, looking at him like he was quite insane. She had told him her name in the woods, and he had been using it for days.

"I meant your _real_ name," Belfire answered. "I am quite sure that no self respecting human couple would name their child Blazewind."

"My parents called me Abagail," Blazewind answered, surprised at how stangeit felt to say that long forgotten name aloud after eleven years. "But that life is long gone now, and I want it to stay that way."

"Was your old life really so bad?" Belfire asked, giuding his horse around a sharp bend in the road.

"Not bad," Blazewind answered. "Just not who I was. I was never that girl that I had to be then."

"Hmmm," said Befire. "I supose I can understand that. Not all of us can be what the world expects of us."

"No, we can't," Blazewind said. "So, who are you really? Someone like you must have a wife and perhaps a child or two waiting for you back home."

"Actually, not so. I have still not found the woman that will make my heart stop beating whenever I see her. I will not marry until it can be to that one woman. I don't think we should have to settle for second best in our lives."

"I must agree with that."

"So," Belfire asked suddenly, after a long pause, and a bit of silance, "you ever been in love?"

"Only once," Blazewind answered. "He did not ever love me back though, and one day he got someone very special to me killed with his selfish foolishness." She stared at the path ahead, and muttered, "the road is my only true companion now."

"That sounds," Belfire began... "very sad."

"It is not as sad as you would think," answered Blazewind. "It is a bard's life. And my life is the one I want."

"Look up ahead," called Kevril, to the back of the line. He pointed with his finger. "The lovely town of Lanorewood."


	4. Chapter 4

Well, slowly but surely, this story is coming together. I am having a good time writing it, and I am hoping the readers are having a good time reading it to. Pleqase keep reading and reviewing. Now... on with the story.

Chapter four. Conflict in Lanorewood.

_"Jamis, have you ever been on a great adventure?"_

_"I never have, no. You will though one day."_

_"Me, an adventurer. I don't think I want to."_

_"You will do great things one day, Blazewind. I know you will."_

_"Me... great? I just want to play my music."_

_"Life does what it will to you," Jamis said. "Sometimes, just when you think you have it all figured out, fate comes up with another plan for you. You can't tell fate what to do, or even what you want to do. It will place you on the path it wants you on, and you can never stop it. I think your fate will grant you an adventure one day."_

_Blazewind let her seated body fall aginst a tree trunk. She knew that Jamis had always believed in fate, but she was never sure if she did. She knew, even at the age of eleven, that she wanted to be in control of her own life. she sure did not want some unseen force giuding her every move, and telling her what to do. She did however admit that it would not be so bad to go on great adventures, with an adventure party._

_"I could compose such great songs about that," she muttered to herself, as she looked at her teacher._

_The image shifted in her mind, and young Blazewind was now running across the clearing to find Jamis' bloodied body on the grass. She screamed in horror, filling the silent woods with her shreaks of furry, and vengeful rage. She felf as though the tears, which poured from her eyes would never subside, as she ran from the dismantled camp on Annette's orders._

Blazewind sat straight upright on the grass, on which she slept. All around her, it was dark, and she could make out black shapes of the trees, all around her. Still in her confused, half asleep state, she yelled in fear, at feeling surrounded in the dark. She threw off her thin cover, believing for a moment that something had grabbed her.

"I will never let you get away with this," she screamed out loud. "You will not kill me like you killed him!"

"Blazewind," called a male voice, running across the clearing. Belfire came over to her quickly, and put the cover around her shoulders. "What in the world...?"

"Belfire... I am sorry. I... I... had a bad dream. I... I am sorry to have..."

"Don't worry about it," Befire answered. "I was up anyway. Are you alright?"

"Yes. I am fine. I have not had a bad dream in a very long time. I wonder why I did tonight."

"Bad dreams happen somtimes," Belfire anwered. "No one knows why they do, when they do."

"Yes, I suppose. Do you ever have nightmares?"

"Hmmm... that is hard to explain. Elves don't exactly sleep. Not like you do. I have had some pretty frightfull feelings though in my idea of the sleepstate, but I just wake myself up easily and that is the end of that."

"Hmmm," Blazewind replied. "Yes, I do recall that elves don't really sleep. Even Jamis never did, and he was half human. He could never quite understand how me and Annette needed to sleep for eight hours every night. He and the elves we traveled with just sat, or layed quietly for about four hours, then they got up."

"Blazewind," said Belfire suddenly, "... I have been pacing around for a couple of hours now, trying to think of a way to ask you what I wanted to."

"What do you need?" Blazewind asked.

"I was thinking," said Belfire, "since you have no place you need to go, would you like to travel with me for a while longer. You can play for people in the taverns along the way, and neither of us will have to go alone then."

"I don't think I need company on the road," Blazewind answered, looking up at the barely rising sun. Belfire sat looking at the groud, seemingly embarrased... or quite rejected.

"I... I'm sorry," Blazewind said. "I did not mean... It's just that I have traveled alone for so long."

"You won't come with me then?"

"I don't know. It has been nice having people to travel with for the last few days. Perhaps I could get used to... I like to go at my pace though, and stop to perform. I do need to earn a living you know."

"I know. There would be a lot of places you could do that in."

"I... I... Okey, I will go with you for awhile."

They were right outside of the little town of Lanorewood, and when morning came, the group of five got up, and went into town. They decided to go and have some breakfast at the tavern, and say their good-byes. They sat inside the small, well disigned place for a good while chatting. The mood was cheerful, and the group, once they learned that Belfire and Blazewind were continuing on together, teased them in friendly humor.

"I think he is in love with the bard," said Ravahana to Davros, as Kevril laughed. Befire began to turn a good shade of pink in the cheeks.

"Am not," he said. "She has no where to go, so I asked her to travel with me is all. It is a long way home for me, and I would be happy to have some company on the way."

The mage leaned over and wispered something to the fighter, before she nearly fell out of her chair laughing. Belfire looked to the rouge for understanding, but he too was nearly laughing himself into a frenzy. Soon the fighter started laughing too, and Belfire looked at Blazewind, who rolled her eyes in disbelief.

The group went back outside ready to part ways, and be going in their own directions, when a group of rough looking men approched. Blazewind looked, and could see that there were seven of them. All were very big human men, all carrying large weapons. The one in the lead looked straght at Ravahana. His companion on the left walked up to her.

"I think you should do as I say," he said gruffly. "Hand me all your money."

"I don't think so," Ravahana said, and the big man picked her up by the front of her dress, lifting the small woman four feet in the air.

"I think you should put me down," the halfling mage told him, still managing to hold into her staff and keep her pack on her back.

"What are you going to do about it," the man demanded. "Give me the money. Now!" Two of the others had grabbed Kevril, and Davros, while Belfire pulled Blazewind into hiding, behind the side wall of the tavern.

The man holding onto Kevril's shirt began to beat him mercilessly, as he to, refused to hand over his gold pieces.

"I have nothing," he lied, as a huge fist slammed into his face.

"Don't give me that you fool," the troublemaker said, punching him again. "I saw you put your gold and siver into your pocket this morning as you left the tavern. I will kill you if I have to. Now, give it to me."

"No," Kevril answered stubernly, as one of Ravahana's fireballs flew at the huge man.

"Ouch!" the trouble maker yelled.

"You stupid idiot," he cried to his friend. "She's got some sort of mage powers. Stop her."

"How?" the other man asked, dropping Ravahana, as she threw another wave of fireballs. She went flying from his grip, sprawling across the ground, and jumped to her feet.

"That'll teach you," she cried, pulling her very small weapon from the holder atached to her pants. She swung the sowrd wildly at two of the men, untill another lifted her off the ground.

"No," said the man holding her. "That will teach you."

"I sware you will never get away with this," Ravahana yelled, kicking her tiny feet at him, until she managed to kick him... right in the metal armor he wore hiden under his loose cloak.

"Owwww!" she screached in pain and rage. "I am going to kill you. You... You... menace!"

"I am shaking," he answered, as he began to look through her pockets. "You are what? About three feet tall?"

"Ahhhh! I hate you!" the mage screamed. She swung her sowrd at him, and managed to cut his ear badly enough to get dropped again.

Davros was in the middle of a brawl with two of the men, and was losing. He may have been a good fighter, but each of the two opponants he now fought were bigger than he was. Soon he was bloodied, and briused, and about to lose his footing from weakness.

"I'm going to help our friends," Blazewind said to Belfire, as he held onto her arm.

"No," he said. "I can't let do get into that fight. You be killed."

"If I don't try, they will all be killed," Blazewind answered, pulling out her sowrd, and pulling her arm free of his grip. She run out and showed herself to the seven troublemakers. One grabbed her imeadeatly, and she swung her sword at him, as Belfire shot arrows from his bow in rapid sucsession. The man, whom Blazewind had swiftly killed, dropped her, before falling to the ground. She turned rapidly, swinging at another advancing man. He fell to the ground next at her hand, as a third, and forth were killed by Belfire's arrows. The three left standing ran off through the streets in panic, one of them dropping Ravahana's money.

"Oh god!" Blazewind cried in horror, as Belfire took the trembling woman in his arms. "Oh my god!"

"Are you alright?" he asked, and she nodded slowly.

"I... think Kevril and Davros need healing," she told him, and Belfire nodded his head.

"Can you go and check on Ravahana. I think she is alright, but we need to know for sure. She is so small, she can be hurt so easily."

Blazewind found the halfling sitting on the ground with one leg straght out in front of her. The look on her face was one of shock and pain.

"My... foot is broken... I think," she said, falling back into Blazewind's arms.

"Alright," the bard said slowly, still shaken up from the fight. "Belfire will help you." Blazewind looked down in horror to see that the blood of someone's death was on her hands. She shook off the terror as much as she could, and handed the mage her staff, which had been thrown to to ground in anger earlier by the small woman.

"I will be fine by morning," Belfire said later, as Blazewind sat beside him in a hidden place in the forest. "I just need to rest for a few hours. iI have epended too much energy trying to heal all of our party members in such a short time."

"You are sure you are alright," Blazewind asked the very weak looking elf.

"Yes, this has happened many times to me before."

Blazewind lay on the ground herself, and tried to stop herself from shaking long enough to sleep. She could not believe the reality that she had killed two people. She knew that she had only done it to save her companions and herself, but that still did not make it feel right in her heart. She sat up again and sat for awhile, watching Belfire as he lay on the grass. She could not explain to herself, the feeling for him, that were stirring right now in her heart.


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you for your review. Truegold-dragonstar, I used those other people in the story, just so as there would be a way for Blazewind to meet Belfire. Also, I do not want to write a story with just the most basic of characters and plots. It seems that it would be quite a boring story that way. Also, I will have Blazewind make those observations later in the story, about other people. Thank you for you advice. I hope that you continue to enjoy the rest of the story.

Chapter five. On the road.

Belfire and Blazewind were fully soaked to the skin as they reached the town of Renfield. The rain had been coming down for two days, and Blazewind was beginning to fear that the creek, along which they rode would flood. The water level was steadily rising still, and was now splashing over the banks in heavy waves.

"I think," said Belfire, tying up his horse to a post outside of the local inn, "we should check in here for the night." Blazewind nodded.

"It will be better to stay here tonight, then try to sleep, sheltered under the trees again," she said.

"It works alright when it has to," Belfire said, "but it is nice to be in town now."

Belfire entered the old inn, with Blazewind fallowing, and asked for two room, to which the innkeeper handed him two keys.

"Creek facing room, or street facing room?" he asked Blazewind, holding out the keys.

"Hmmm... hardly matters I suppose. Okay, road facing room please."

"Well... goodnight then. I will see you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Belfire. I am so exhausted. It will be nice to get into a proper bed tonight bed."

"Goodnight, Blazewind."

The two traveling companions closed the doors to the rooms, and Blazewind got into bed. Tired though she was, she found herself unable to sleep. She lay in the darkness, looking around at the dark silhouettes of the objects in the small room. She knew that she should not mind traveling, and staying in strange towns. She had been traveling for so long now. She could hardly remember the time that she had a true home. It had been so long now. The road was her home. Why tonight, she wondered, was she not at home on the road. Maybe_ it's the rain, _she told herself, grateful that at least there was no thunder. She wondered if the rest of Belfire's party had made it to wherever they were now bound for. She knew that the three of them lived in nearby towns, and Belfire still had a long while of travel ahead of him to reach his village. She wondered a lot about him. She had come to understand that he was the sort of person that would reveal information asked of him, only if one actually asked. He was not, it seemed, the type of man that would just talk about himself for the sake of talking. Blazewind had always been quite good at reading people. It was a skill that she had learned to develop over her years as a bard. She knew that it was a big help to her to be able to do that well. Belfire however, was such a hard person to understand. She got out of bed, and sat late into the night working out the sound for a new ballad she was composing.

The two of them stayed at the small inn another night, as the rain began to slow, and finally stop sometime in the night. Blazewind performed for the slowly gathering crowd in the downstairs tavern, and Belfire sat talking to a young female elf in the corner. Blazewind sang her songs, then left early with Belfire, after a fight broke out between two drunken men.

"I see you made a friend last night," Blazewind commented cheerfully the next morning at breakfast. She buttered her toast, and took a bite, noticing in disgust how stale the bread was.

"Who, I... oh yes. Her," Belfire answered. "I do believe she is the daughter of the tavern's owner. Oh... what was her name... I cannot recall." He leaned over the table, close to her ear, and finished with, "drinks too much too if you ask me. Drunk out of her mind last night... and flirting shamelessly with everyone in sight."

"Oh," Blazewind said. "I hoped for your sake that you may have found..."

"I know what you are going to say," Belfire answered, with a laugh, "and I hardly think so. A girl like that is the worst kind. Besides, she is not as pretty as you."

"Huh?" Blazewind dropped her toast onto her plate, and sat looking at him in shocked surprise for several seconds.

"What in the world?" she finally managed to blurt out.

"My god," Belfire exclaimed happily. "That was the first time in my life I have ever seen a bard speechless."

"You really think I am pretty," Blazewind asked, still surprised. "I... I hardly think that I..."

"You really are a beautiful girl you know Blazewind. For you to not believe that is selling yourself short."

"Th... thank you," Blazewind muttered. She stared down at the table top, feeling for some strange reason, embarrassed by Belfire's compliment.

"Today I think we can make it about sixty miles," Belfire was saying. "That will take us as far as Belmoore."

"I am familiar with that town," Blazewind said. "We must have been to the east of the territory that I grew up traveling in. I remember singing on a corner there, until I gathered enough people to tell my stories to. It was in the woods to the south of there that that boy joined our troop. Annette told Jamis one night that she had brought him in with the hope that he would marry me. That boy ruined everything our troop ever had..." She had been rambling on, thinking out loud.

"What happened," Belfire asked, and Blazewind reluctantly told the story of Jamis' death, after the boy planted the unknown object into his pack.

"That is terrible," Belfire said. "So, you say... you are on a mission to avenge him."

Blazewind nodded. "I cannot stand the thought that his killer will go unpunished. He is out there thinking with satisfaction, that he must have gotten away with it."

"And you say you saw him just disappear..."

"Yes. He just vanished into some soft of portal in the forest. I don't know how, but I know he must have mage powers. The portal must have..."

"Dimension doorway," Belfire muttered.

"What?"

"A dimension doorway is something used by advanced magic users as a type of teleport spell. It is basically a quick way to get from one place to another."

"He must have used it to get away from the murder scene fast," Blazewind said. "That way, he could get out before he was caught in our camp."

They left the inn after leaving some money with the innkeeper, and went outside to untie their horses. They climbed onto the animals, and set off on the next leg of their journey.

"I wonder what that object was that the boy put in Jamis' pocket," Blazewind said, after riding along with Belfire for a long while in silence on the side of a lonely road.

"I was thinking about that myself," Belfire answered. "The young man must have stolen it, and then planted it on him when he knew the owner was coming to kill the one who had it."

"I figured," Blazewind said. "But what was it?"

"Did you see anything of it that night?"

"No, nothing really. All I saw was that the boy put his hand into Jamis's jacket pocket in the evening, while the jacket was laying on the ground. I actually assumed for a while that he had taken something out of the pocket, and I planned to tell Jamis in the morning that the boy had stolen from him. Late that night the camp was raided, and Jamis was killed. I figure that he must have admitted to ownership of the jacket, and when the item turned up in the pocket, he was killed for stealing it. What I don't understand is why he was killed even after the object was found by whoever wanted it back. The person, or people who did it must have been nothing short of ruthless."

"It does seem like overkill," Belfire muttered, as he pulled his horse's rains to the left, around a bend in the road. "It must have been done by someone who was very concerned that he would take some soft of action against them... or... someone who killed him just for the sake of killing someone. It would have been a convenient victim."

"Who kills just for the fun of it," Blazewind muttered. "That is awful."

"There are some awful people out in the world," Belfire told her. "As a traveling bard, you of all people should know that."

"I... I do know that. I just still find it hard to believe sometimes, that such evil exists in the world."

"I find it hard to believe sometimes myself," Belfire answered sympathetically.

"Why are you out adventuring?" Blazewind asked, after the two of them had climbed of their horses, and sat down in the shade of an old oak tree to rest for a while.

"I wanted to get away for awhile, and see some of this big world we live in. I wanted to meet new people and have new adventures. To be honest, it was a bard that made me want to go."

"Oh?"

"Yes. He came to my village every so often, and would love to tell us stories of the road, and all the things he had seen in the world in his years of traveling. After spending my childhood dreaming of seeing these things to, I began to plan a journey when I reached adulthood. Growing up seemed to take forever though."

"How old are you anyway?" Blazewind asked.

"One hundred and seven,"

"Come on. Seriously, how old are you really?"

"I am serious. Elves live for a very long time."

"Yes, I suppose that is true. Come to think of it, I have heard of some old ages before. So, how old would you be if you were human?"

"About twenty two or so. My coming of age was at ninety eight, and we can live to be about four hundred assuming all goes well with our health, and we are not killed."

"Your people must see a lot of things in such long lives."

"Surprisingly, not really. Most of the people in the village were born there, and will die there, having never left. That is why I come out this far from home. I wanted to see something other then the places in the village. I wanted my life to mean something."

"And did you find meaning?"

"Actually, not really. Not like I thought I would. I realize now that the most important thing in life is to find love. That is another reason I traveled so far. I wanted to find a woman to give my love to. Someone who would understand me, and could accept me for who I am. I was seeking that true form of love that one cannot live without." He paused for a moment before going on slowly. "In short, I was seeking a woman like you."

Blazewind's head shot upright quickly. "Wh... what?" She exclaimed in shock. "How can I be...?"

"I do believe I am in love with you, Blazewind," Belfire said boldly, as he leaned toward her, to gage her reaction. Her eyes were open wide in disbelief, and her hands shook a little as she slowly turned her head down, to look at the dusty ground. He boldly tipped her head up with one hand, and gave her a quick kiss on her lips. She stared at him, as her leaned back against the tree.

"We should be off," she said in a businesslike manner. "If we keep going, we can make it to the next town tonight, and I can try to make some money performing." She stood up, and untied her horse from a tree, with a trembling Belfire fallowing her lead.


	6. Chapter 6

**Well, here were are every one. Chapter six. I didn't think this story would be this long. I am now thinking of writing a sequel to A Bard's Tale when this story is done. Please send my your reviews, and tell me what you think of that idea. I realize that the last chapter was mostly a romance chapter, and that some of you may not like that very much. I realize that some readers want action, so here we go. An action chapter.**

Chapter six. On the trail of the mage.

Blazewind sat under a tree in the woods, playing her pan flute. She looked over a Belfire, who was picking wild berries off a bush nearby.

_Why, _she asked herself,_ does he have to be in love with me. Why can he not see that this is not what I need right now. I need to keep looking for Jamis' killer. I can't fall in love just yet._ She stopped her thoughts dead, before she could finish thinking them. _What am I thinking 'just yet'? I can't fall in love with Belfire at all. _She shook her head to rid her mind of those thoughts and went back to playing. She could not however focus on the music, and soon she went over to pick berries with Belfire.

"Did you mean what you said to me last night?" she asked, as the two of them sat on the ground, eating raspberries.

"What part of what I said?"

"The part about being..."

"In love with you?"

"Yes, that part."

"Um hm," Belfire said simply, reaching up to touch her hair with his red stained fingers

"Sorry,": he muttered, realizing that his fingers were stained with berry juice. "It is good that you have red hair. It won't show."

"True," Blazewind answered, detracted.

"I have always loved your hair by the way," Belfire said. "I reminds me of the light of a hundred sunrises." Blazewind could not suppress a laugh.

"I figured out why I may have had that nightmare," she said, changing the subject to one of seriousness.

"Why?" Belfire looked at her with concern.

"We are so close now to the place where Jamis died. I did not recognize exactly where we were until this morning, but now I realize that he was killed in that clearing we passed last night. That had to be the place. I recognize all of this. It makes me think that we might be close to the place where the killer went to hide out."

"Blazewind, that was years ago. I hope you aren't think you can find him there now."

"Of course not. That was so long ago. I just think I should inquire when we reach town. Maybe someone who have been there a while may know something."

"You should go ahead and ask around, but I don't think you should pursue this farther than that. You could be on the trail of a very dangerous individual."

"I have to win justice for Jamis," Blazewind said stubbornly, standing up.

"So you are looking for a mage, eh?" the bartender in a small rundown tavern said, as Blazewind leaned on the bar, with Belfire behind her. She looked around at the place, which looked about to crumble to the ground any day. The look of the leaking, water damaged ceiling above her head made the bard very nervous, and she tried not to show it to the man. He leaned in toward her, with breath sticking of whiskey, and put a filthy hand on her shoulder.

"There was a mage around here years ago," he said quietly. "He did not live here long, only a summer and fall. Strange man, never quite right in the head, if you get my drift." He tapped on his head lightly to make his point, and Blazewind nodded understanding.

"When did he leave town?" she asked, "and where did he go?"

"Left about five years ago," the man answered, his eyes on Blazewind's breasts. "Took off in a hurry people say. Some say he had spent the past several years of his life hunting around for some magical pendent necklace. Some say he believed it held the power to call on the forces of darkness, but I always thought that was nonsense."

"Did he find it here?" Blazewind asked. Her breath was caught in her throat, and she felt weak in the knees, waiting for the man to finish the story, hoping that it would all fit together; Hoping the man would direct her onto the trail of the mage.

"Yup," he said. "I do believe he did. He found what he believe to be the pendent. Like I say, he was half out of his mind. He found some little trinket in the pocket of some bard, so they say, and he killed the bard that night. Guess he wanted to stop him from telling anyone. There were others that the bard was traveling with, and I guess they must have been hidden well enough in the woods asleep. He did not see them, it seems. Some say the dead man was raising a girl at the time... red head like you. I am getting carried away though. That has nothing to do with anything, now does it."

"Thank you for the help," Blazewind said, covering her breasts with her arms, hoping to make him stop starring. "Do you have any idea where he went?"

"Rumor has it he went to a town called Sleeping Lake about a days travel from here by horse."

"Thank you," Blazewind said. She turned to Belfire with a look of triumph on her face.

"Let's get going," she said.

"Young lady wait," the bartender called to her, waving her back over. She leaned back against the bar, and he leaned in to whisper again. "Be careful young lady. You don't know who are are messing with here. This man has committed murder. Don't go looking for trouble. Just take your friend there, and go the other way."

"Thank you for your sound advice," said Blazewind, before she and Belfire walked out.

"Belfire," she said, looking over his map outside, "is it out of the way to go to sleeping lake?"

"No," he answered, pointing out some dots on the map. "Sleeping Lake is here, and my village is here, a long way to the south. We would almost have to go though Sleeping Lake anyway. Do you want to go there?"

"Yes," Blazewind answered. "I need to see what I can find out there."

"I figured you would," Belfire replied. "Keep in mind though that this man probably won't still be living there now."

"I know," Blazewind told him. "I want to try to find out where he is now."

A trip to Sleeping Lake led them on the road to Hollow Mountain, which led them to Crimson Cove, and on to Merrybrooke. After a week of traveling, both were anxious to fine the mage. They both wanted for their own separate reasons to be done this quest. They were now several days travel off Belfire's plotted course home, and as rain began to pour from the sky, neither of their moods were very cheerful. They trotted along on their horses, though the muddy field, overgrown with thick, long grass. Blazewind, trying to remain positive sang a song, as she rode, Belfire fallowing closely behind.

"You really think that this is the place?" Belfire asked, dismounting his horse to lead him through the mud and weeds.

"I think so," Blazewind said, getting off her horse as well. Her feet hit a puddle of runny mud, and she frowned in disgust, at feeling it under her feet. "This seems to be the place that woman back in Merrybrooke told us about."

"But this path leads to nowhere but some cliffs," Belfire protested.

"She said we need to find a shelter in the rocks," Blazewind reminded him. "Cliffs are made of giant rocks aren't they? I think the mage's workshop is inside one of those cliffs."

"Alright. I keep trusting that you know where we are going."

"Thank you, Belfire."

"For what?"

"For everything," Blazewind said, turning to face him, while still holding the horse's reigns. "For helping me on this quest, for being my friend, for asking me to travel with you."

"You're welcome Blazewind," Belfire said, as they began to walk again. "Thank you for a lot of things too. You know how I feel about you, and I just want to say that even if you can never love me back, thank you for being my friend anyway."

This is it," Blazewind said suddenly, coming to a stop to inspect the entrance to a cave carved out of the huge cliff that stood before them. "This has to be it."

"Blazewind," said Belfire, "what is your plan?"

"I am going inside to find out who is in there. If it is the man who killed Jamis, then I will do as I see fit at the moment. I am quite sure it will be him. I can feel it."

"I will go with you," Belfire said, and Blazewind stopped him with her hand.

"No. Don't put yourself in danger. This is my mission. You just wait in the cave entrance. I will be back."

"Blazewind," Belfire said as she turned to walk away. "Turn around for a moment."

"What's wrong?" she asked, her sword in her hand, ready to go into a fight.

"Nothing really," Belfire answered. "I just want to look at you for a moment... to memorize and remember what you look like... In case I never see you alive again."

"Oh, Belfire," Blazewind said, her whole body trembling with fear. "You will see me alive again soon." She turned and hurried into the depths of the cave, and out of his sight.

Blazewind crept farther into the cave, trying hard to stop her body from shaking. She had to admit that she was afraid of what she would find around the next corner... or the next. She wished that she could just find who she was looking for and do what she had to do, so that she could rid herself of the growing fear, which was beginning to feel like it was eating a hole in her stomach. She could not fight the urge to throw up, and did so while leaning against a wall to steady herself.

_What am I doing here, _she asked herself._ I am a bard, not a fighter. Maybe there are somethings in life that just happen, and fighting will not make it right. I want to go... _

"Well hello there little lady," said voice behind her. She jumped almost a foot in the air, in a wave of terror at seeing a man walk up quickly behind her. The man was older and was dress in a mage robe, with a very wicked look on his face. "You are looking for me, I presume."

"You killed Jamis Stormybrooke!" Blazewind yelled accusingly. She did not know what else to do. It was too late to flee. Shaking like a leaf on the tree in the thunderstorm, she knew that she would have to see the battle through to the end.

"Who?" the mage asked. "I have killed several people in my life and I will admit to that. I can't know one pointless victim by name." He walked across the stone chamber in which they stood, and put a hand under Blazewind's chin, staring her menacingly in the eyes. "Tell me more, young lady. Who was this Jamis I'm said to have killed."

"He was a bard," Blazewind said, trying to cover her shaking with a strong voice. "He was the man who taught me all I know about the bard life. He was the first person to believe in me. He taught me to believe in myself. You killed him in cold blood because you thought he took what you wanted."

"Didn't he?" the mage asked in mock innocence. "Everyone knows you bards are nothing but a bunch of sneaky thieves."

"Not all of us," Blazewind shouted, raising her sword. "Not me, and certainly not Jamis."

"My my," said the mage. "Aren't you a trembling little thing. And you are going to fight me, are you?"

"I intend to avenge my friend," Blazewind said, anger driving away her fear. "You look to old to even handle a weapon."

"Oh, my naive little thing. I don't need a weapon to fight you, and win. I have the most powerful weapon of all at my hand." He took his hand away from her face, and held it out to shoot a string of fireballs across the room.

"You see, silly young bard," he said. "You can't win. Not against a high level mage. Just to be fair, I will make you a deal. If you can get close enough to me to take a swing with your weapon, I will let you take that swing, before firing back, but I don't think you will get that close." In the blink of an eye, the old man had teleported, and was at the far end of the large cavern. Blazewind tried to get close enough to swing at him, but whenever she had come close, he either put up a forcefield, teleported across the room, or threw fire or ice at her. Blazewind, soon exhausted yelled in rage, and leaned against a wall trying to catch her breath.

"Shall we call me the winner by default and just call a truce," the mage asked, as Blazewind dropped her weapon, which had somehow become burning hot in her hand.

"I... I..." Blazewind tried to speak as the mage came to her, and kicked away the sword.

"You fought a good fight," he said. "I am truly impressed by your talent. Perhaps you should have been a fighter instead of a bard. Can we talk seriously for a moment?" Blazewind nodded, having no father options.

"I did not mean to kill your teacher," the mage said. "I just wanted to find out who owned the clothing that the pendent was hidden in, and he said that it was his jacket. I advanced on him, but only to talk. I wanted to be sure that he knew how dangerous the pendent could be, and to be sure that no one in the camp had been hurt by it. He must have thought I was going to kill him, because he drew a knife from his belt. I kept going toward him, trying to talk my way out of a misunderstanding. I reached out to grab the knife from him, and one thing led to another. He stepped forward, and lost his balance. I tried then to keep him from hurting himself, knowing full well of course that he had a knife in his hand. I missed my chance to grab him, and he fell... right onto his weapon. I could hear someone awake in the tress, and I ran, hoping no one would no what happened. Young lady, I am truly sorry."

"Oh," said Blazewind in surprise. "She had not been expecting this at all, and she looked into his eyes, and saw truth.

"But, you said that you have killed many people in you lifetime?" she said, confused.

"I used to work for the wrong kind of man," the mage answered, "...as an assassin. I did not know that you had come to avenge that bard at first."

"But still, after you knew, you wanted to fight me."

"I knew that I would not hurt you by accident, and I was confidant that you could not hurt me. I simply wanted you to learn a good life lesson."

"And what lesson was that?"

"I wanted you to learn that you are stronger than you think, yet at the same time weaker than you think. You can't will all battles, but you will win some. Now go on, young bard. Back out into the world, and remember this lesson."

"Yes... I w... will," Blazewind stammered, shocked by this turn of events that she was facing. She began to hurry toward the passageway down which she had come. She wanted to get back to Belfire, and their journey. She tried to convince herself to shake off the feeling that something was wrong with the mage's story. She desperately wanted to believe him... but...

"You should know before you die, that I lied to you," the mage called to her suddenly.

"What?" Blazewind cried, turning around to see a bolt of lightening flying toward her.

"I did mean to kill that man," the mage shouted. "It will be good to have you out of the way now as well." The lightening was ignited by a ball of fire, and Blazewind ran forward, trying to escape a, now out of control blaze. She had nearly reached the cave entrance just ahead of the flames. She was thrown several feet though the air as the blast reached the outside air and caught the wind.

Belfire had grown tired of waiting in the cave entrance, and wandered back outside into the rain, which was slowing down. He had wandered farther away, up toward the muddy road. He had for a time wanted to go and help Blazewind, but he knew she was right. That was something she had to do on her own. He had seated himself, sheltered from the rain by a large tree, and that was where he sat when he saw the blast.

"Blazewind!" he screamed, leaping to his feet. The two horses, who had been grazing in the weeds, ran for the road, terrified of fire, as horses always will be. He was sure that she was dead as he saw the wind catch the flames and fan then onto the wet grass, which thankfully put out the fire, or at least most of it. Little fires burned her and there over the field, but were controlled by the rain. Belfire felt dampness on his cheeks that he was sure was not from the rain, as he searched for the bard in the tall, partly burned grass. He stumbled about, blinded by tears, as he still kept searching.

"Blazewind," he screamed again. "Blazewind, where are you?" The rain stopped falling suddenly, and he listened for any sound carried on the wind. A small cry came to his ears just as he was ready to rest for a moment. In a patch of charred grass near some flat rocks, he saw what looked like the blue shirt that Blazewind wore. He ran over and let himself drop to his knees beside the semi-conscious young human.

"Bel... fire..." she said slowly, reaching up to him. "I... I think the... mage burned down... his..."

"Blazewind, don't worry about it now," Belfire said. He looked her over carefully and tried to stop crying, as he saw her appearance. Her clothes were in near shreds of fabric, and her body was, in many places red, and pinkish purple. She was bruised and bleeding, as well as burned, and her two long red braids hung limply over her shoulders, the ends quite charred from the fire. He carefully lifted her head onto his knees, as she closed her eyes.

"Belfire," she muttered, barely above a whisper. Her arms suddenly flew up as she let out a random scream of pain. Her took her thankfully undamaged hands, and tried to quiet her. He was sure he could heal her, if he could only focus... and right now that would be difficult. She screamed again and clung to his arm in fear.

"Blazewind," he said softly. "Please don't panic. It will be okay. If I can just focus my energy, I can heal you."

"Okay," she said, trying to steady her breathing. She let go of his arm, and let him gain his focus, while he kept gently speaking to her. She opened her eyes again, and stared into his, looking for something to focus on.

"Belfire," Blazewind said in the morning, just as the sun was rising.

"Hmmm?" Belfire said. He was leaning against the trunk of a tree, watching her, as she slept, wrapped up in a pile of bedding that he had bundled her into in the night.

"I believe," she said, trying to sit up, "that this is now the second time you've saved my life."

"I am a cleric," Belfire answered. "It is part of my duty to do what I did. I am glad you are better. Do you feel alright?" He passed her a bottle of drinking water.

"I will be fine," she said, after taking a drink. "Belfire, i want to tell you something."

"You should rest for a while longer now. You can tell me when you wake up again."

"No. I have to say it now. It is important."

"Alright. What do you need to say."

"Last night," Blazewind said, looking at him with adoration, "I realized something."

"What did you realize."

"I realized that I could not let myself die, because I had a great reason for living. I have fallen in love with you."

**And there you have it, my friends. I will leave you hanging here for now. Geez, writing the end of that chapter nearly made my cry. The romance is heating up between our leading couple. Please review. I really want your feedback on that chapter. Goodnight for now. It is time I went to bed.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I am truly sorry that it has taken me so long to update. I was out of town for a week, and had no computer access. When I got home before the weekend, I spent a good bit of time on my other fics. I have had a bit of writers block on this story, but will do my best to write more. I will finish soon, I promise. **

Chapter seven. The journey home.

"Blazewind," Belfire called back to her over the trotting hooves of their horses. "You're going to have to trot a lot faster than that, all the way to the next town. It's still a long ride to my village, and we want to stop for the night."

"Got it," Blazewind answered back, guiding her horse into a faster pace. They rode for two more hours until stopping to eat and sleep in a town on the way.

Blazewind, normally talkative and fun, was silent at supper. She looked down at her plate, and pushed carrots around with her fork. Belfire looked at her with worry in his eyes.

"What's wrong," he asked her. "Are you alright."

Blazewind thought back over the last month that she and Belfire had spent traveling the country together. After she had fallen in love with him, he had decided to travel with her to out of the way places, saying that his home could wait a while. He wanted her get to know her better, before he brought her back with him. The couple planned to marry in his village as soon as they could, and neither could have been happier at this new time in their lives.

"It's nothing," Blazewind said. "I'm alright."

"Come on," Belfire answered. "You know you can tell me anything. We're going to be married soon. We have to trust each other."

"I know," Blazewind said. "Do you promise you won't be angry."

"Yes. Now, why do you look so... distracted?"

"Well," Blazewind began slowly. "You're an elf. You come from an elven village, and I am a human. Don't you think that maybe people around there might be a little hostile toward me... Or, at the very least, a bit..."

"Hmm, I see what you're saying," Belfire said. "No, I don't think most people will be like that at all. In fact, there are a few humans there already."

"Really?"

"Yes," last I remember, there were two human woman married to elven men, and three human men married to elven woman. There are also two completely human families, both with young children living in the village."

"Oh?"

"Yes. You sure won't be the only human around. Besides, even my own people will like you."

"How many people live in you village?" Blazewind asked, her mood brightening.

"Last I heard, there may have been around three hundred," Belfire replied. "Including the humans, of course."

"How long have you been away from home now" Blazewind asked.

"Almost a year now," Belfire told her. "I set off to find adventure on the road, and seemed to find a lot of trouble as well."

"Trouble"

"Yes. Robbers, bandits, you know. Things like that. I did have a lot of good times though. I ran into the group you met me traveling with, about two months after leaving home. They asked if I wanted to go with them, and I said I would."

"I would imagine your family misses you by now."

"Yes. I believe they do. Mother is probably sick with worry. Irienda and Marthana are probably wondering when I'm coming back."

"Are they your sisters."

"Yes," Belfire answered. "My two little sisters. They are still children. Irienda is twenty nine, and Marthana is... I believe...eighteen."

"I can't believe that is still so young to your race. So, it's just you and the two girls in your family. Besides your parents, of course."

"Not even close," Belfire said, laughing. "In order, from oldest to youngest child, there is my sister Loralove, my sister Ravaonna, my sister Carrath, then me, and the two younger ones."

"Five sisters," Blazewind commented. "That must have been weird growing up."

"One day," Belfire laughed, "Ravaonna and Carrath, got a hold of me, and dressed me in girls clothes when I was very little. My parents were less than impressed with that." Blazewind laughed at the mental image of Belfire in girl's clothing.

"Why do you never wear dresses," Belfire asked, as they rode again the next morning.  
"I do," Blazewind answered, "sometimes. Just not very often."

"Do you have one with you, on the road."

"Yes."

"You should put it on."

"I can't ride very well in a dress," Blazewind protested. They climbed off the horses to let them rest and graze for a short while.

"Can you wear your dress when we get to my village," Belfire asked. "It would be nice for you to meet my family dressed like a proper lady."

"What's wrong with the way I'm dressed now," Blazewind demanded, as Belfire looked over her clothes, an outfit that she usually wore, since her other one had been destroyed in the fire. She wore blue pants, tucked into brown boots. Her shirt was green, with red sleeves, and her long braids were tied at the ends, with yellow ribbons.

"Nothing is really wrong with your outfit exactly," Belfire answered. "It's just that your clothes are... well... busy. You tend to wear very loud clothing."

"I'm a bard," Blazewind said. "I am wearing entertainers clothing.

"And there's nothing at all wrong with that," Belfire answered. "I just think that you should make a good impression on my family."

"I am who I am, Belfire. Don't you think that if they except me for..."

"You're right. I should not ask you to me what you aren't. I'm truly sorry."

"That's alright," Blazewind answered. "I know that you just really want you family to like me, and to approve of our marriage plans. How long till we get there now."

"Should be about two more days riding at the good pace we are going. If we start riding now, we should make it to a good camping spot I know, by sunset."

The two travelers made camp in front of a roaring fire, that evening, and lay in their bedding under a tree.

"It is so nice that you can enjoy nature," Blazewind said, looking up at the full moon. "i love sleeping out here."

"Elves love the woods, and being out in nature. You will be seeing a lot of nature with my people. I am thankful that you love it as much as you do. I've met some humans who would hate it out here, and complain about it."

"I have spent so much of my life traveling," said Blazewind. "How can I not be happy out in the woods. Living the life of a bard, one has to adapt to living out here a lot. Belfire, is your whole family still in your village."

"Yes. All five sisters, three bothers in law, and my parents are all there. Won't they be surprised when a I bring you home."

"I look forward to meeting them," Blazewind said, as she rolled over to sleep.

**Well that chapter was shorter than I was hoping for. My apologies about that. Please read and review as always. I will make the next one longer.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Well here we are. The last chapter. This was my first fan fiction, and I am having a great time writing it. I will write this last chapter, then move on to bigger and hopefully better things in the fan fic world. On to the end then...**

Chapter eight. Arrival in the village.

Autumn was coming, and the sun had begun to set early. Blazewind pulled the hood of her yellow cloak over her head and rode on, behind Belfire. They reached the top of a winding road up a hill, and Belfire stopped his horse quickly, by pulling up on the rains. He sat at the top of the hill looking down from the road. Blazewind rode up beside him, and looked down at the small blazing fires below. She could see that the fires burned in a large clearing, in the midst of a wooded area off the road.

"We're home," Belfire said, excitedly. "We have just got to ride down the hill, and into the forest. We'll make it within a half hour. Come on Blazewind."

Blazewind steered her horse around a small bend in the road, and down the other side of the hill. The road was more steep than the way up the the top, and the rocks were loose in many places. The two travelers took the road slowly on the backs of their nervous horses.

"Who built this road," Blazewind muttered, more to herself than to Belfire. In her mind, she formed the idea about wring a song about a wagon wreak on a road like this one. She knew from experience that people got excited when bards told tales of adventure, even if those stories were made up.

"I would guess that it was built by my village many years ago," Belfire answered. "Although I don't remember it being this bad on my way up here."

"You think that there may have been a rock slide while you were away."

"Quite possible, I suppose. This place is known for heavy rains in the spring."

The two of them finally made it to the edge of the woods, and Belfire said that all they had now, was to ride straight through to the little village. They rode in slowly, worried about the coming darkness, and soon made it to the clearing. Belfire dismounted his house, and Blazewind fallowed his lead, wondering once again what she was doing in that place. Leaving the hoses to graze in the woods, Belfire led the way to a group of elves standing, and sitting around a bonfire. Several children ran about, shouting, and chasing one another, while the adults talked calmly to one another.

One little boy, who had been just a moment ago, involved in the chase across the clearing, now stopped staring at Blazewind,barely taken any notice of Belfire. He ran back the other way.

"Visitors," he yelled excitedly. "Visitors have come."

The rest of the children stopped their racing around, and began to creep slowly to the edge of the woods. The adults began to walk slowly over to greet their guests. Belfire had begun to lead Blazewind toward the group, and soon they were met by a middle aged looking woman with golden yellow hair hanging past her shoulders, and a surprised grin on her face.

"Belfire," she said happily. "My only son has returned to us."

"Just as I promised I would, Mother," Belfire said, looking at the gathering group.

"This is Blazewind," he said, gesturing excitedly toward his chosen mate.

"Welcome Blazewind," Belfire's mother said. "I am Aliora."

"Come on," Belfire said, pulling on Blazewind's arm. "Let's go find the rest of my family. They should be all over the place, among the rest of the villagers." Blazewind had no choice but to fallow the excited Belfire, as he ran toward the bonfire.

"Belfire's back, Belfire's back," the villagers began to shout in excited disbelief.

Belfire had to go around hugging everyone, and introducing Blazewind, who had started to wonder if all of them were insane. Blazewind though, actually found herself having a good time. The villagers begged to hear stories of her years on the road, and she had many to tell.

Belfire's mother soon walked over with a man, who promptly welcomed Belfire home.

"Who's the girl," he asked.

"This is Blazewind," Belfire told him. "We have to home to live, and to be married as soon as is possible."

"You wish to marry a human," the man, who Blazewind learned was Belfire's father, asked in disbelief, and possibly disagreement.

"Why not a human, Belfire protested. "Blazewind is the one who I was meant to spend my life with. You always told me that when I found the one for me, I would know it."

"I meant for you to find a woman of our kind," the man told him.

"I see nothing wrong with humans..."

"There is nothing wrong with humans. They are, in many cases, our allies, and trading partners."

"Then what's wrong with marrying a human."

"You two just have so many different customs," Belfire's father explained. "I have never understood have some people can be happy married to humans. They are so different from us."

He walked away, muttering to himself, and Belfire turned to Blazewind with a grin planted on his face.

"So, how do you like my father, Thogold Merryweather," he asked, laughing at her horrified expression.

"He's... charming," Blazewind said sarcastically rolling her eyes.

"He likes you," Belfire assured her, as she looked at the gathered group around the fire. "He just did not expect me to bring home the girl I plan to marry. I left for an adventure on the road, at a time when he was always bugging me to try finding the girl I loved. I think that he was getting worried that I would never find anyone. He is just a little shocked that if I could find someone in the area, I managed to find you on the road."

"It seems to me that he doesn't like the thought of you marrying a human," Blazewind said bluntly.

"He's just a little surprised is all," Belfire answered.

"Where are all of the houses," Blazewind asked, determined not to worry about her future father in law any more at the moment.

"Back in the woods behind us," Belfire answered. "You can't see them from this clearing. Would you like to see my house. The group is starting top break up and head for their homes now anyhow."

Blazewind fallowed Belfire into the woods, which was covered with tightly packed trees. She could not see how a horse could get though it, pulling a cart. She could not imagine this being a place to build a village. Blazewind looked at the thick, heavy trees, and took in the smell of pine, and spruce evergreens. The sun was fully set now, and the night creatures of the forest were coming out. She could here the nearby hoot of an owl, and thought she heard something, possibly a raccoon run past, near her feet. She was happy that Belfire lived in a place so close to nature. She always loved the outdoors.

"So," she said, confused. "Where's your house."

"Look up," Belfire answered with a laugh. Blazewind looked up over her head, and barely made out the little tree house in the darkness.

"You live in a tree house," she asked, her voice a mixture of shock and surprise.

"You don't like the idea of living..." Belfire began to say, before Blazewind interrupted him.

"Are you kidding," she said. "I love it. That is so different from anything I have ever seen before. Besides, we will be very safe being up so high."

"Can you make it up," Belfire asked, suddenly remembering that elves in general, were better climbers than humans.

"I can make it up," Blazewind answered. "I spent a good part of my childhood in trees." She was gone quickly, climbing up, finding the best path up the branches with an efficiency that would have put many elves to shame. Belfire began to climb up after her, wondering once again if she would ever run out of ways to amaze him.

"Well, he came home at last," said a voice as the two climbed into the tree house.

"I was hoping we would have the house to our selves for a while," Belfire whispered as Blazewind made the last step up, into what looked to be a small kitchen.

"Your parents beat us to it," she whispered back, as Belfire's father looked her over doubtfully.

"How did she even get up here," Thogold asked in disbelief.

"Humans _can_ climb trees," said the girl who sat on the kitchen floor, with an old, well worn book.

"I don't doubt it," Thogold answered, as Belfire's other little sister, the younger of the two, came from a curtained off room beside the kitchen. She looked at Blazewind intently, before their mother sent them off, both back into the curtained room.

"I'm just saying," Thogold mumbled, "that humans are about as useful out in the forest as a case of the plague. I don't doubt that she can climb a tree, I just worry that she will break every bone in..."

"She made it up here alright," said Aliora. "That clearly means that she is a good climber."

"I just wonder if this community really needs another human," Thogold muttered from his wooden chair at the kitchen table.

"Oh, knock it off," said his wife, holding her hand beside his head, as though she were going to smack him. "Blazewind is going to soon be part of the family, and if you don't simply except her, you will just make us all miserable with your complaining."

"I just think that..." Thogold began to say.

"There is nothing wrong with Blazewind." Aliora said back. "You just don't think that any woman is good enough for Belfire. You are being nothing but a trouble maker."

"Come along with you, both of you," she said to the couple. I've got to figure out where to put everybody." She gave her husband a warning look,as she walked into another curtained room.

"He's my only son," Thogold muttered to himself. "How can I like any woman enough."

"Never mind him," Aliora said to Blazewind as she led the way into a room behind the curtain. "He's just a bit surprised that Belfire's getting married." She began to put bedding on a simple bed by a wall, in the tiny, yet cozy room. Blazewind saw that there were a couple other empty beds in the room, on the other side near the door.

"This room belonged to my three older daughters," she explained. "I believe you met them at the bonfire along with their husbands. You can stay in this room. The other two girls are in the room on the other end of the kitchen. Belfire, you can go back to sleeping in your old bed in the loft above the common room. This arrangement will work out nicely, I think. So..." she paused for a moment, "how did the two of you meet."

"Belfire saved my life twice," Blazewind answered, putting the pillows in cases.

"Oh," said Aliora, looking proudly at her son.

"Well," Belfire explained, "I really could do nothing else. It is my duty to help those in need."

"Very true," said Aliora, "but what crazy adventures you must have had, Blazewind to get into such trouble twice."

"An attack by ravenous wolves, and a meeting with a crazy mage she was chasing," Belfire told his mother.

"I understand having a run in with wolves, out in the wilds," Aliora said, "but why were you chasing a crazy mage."

"I was trying to avenge the death of my teacher, whom he admitted to killing," Blazewind answered.

"And did you get your vengeance."

"Well, he burned down his cave, trying to kill me, so I think you are about even," Blazewind answered with a laugh.

"Oh my goodness," Aliora said. "Did you make it out alright."

"Not exactly," Blazewind answered. "If Belfire had not been around, I surely would have died. That was the second time he saved me." Aliora, unsure what to say to that simply took her leave, and went on her way.

"Don't stay up too late," she said on her way out. "Tomorrow, we have a wedding to start planning. I'm on my way to bed. Good night you two, oh and Blazewind..."

"Yes."

"It is so nice to have you here. I am looking forward to having you as part of my family."

"Thank you. Good night." Blazewind, she could think of nothing else to say.

"I am truly surprised that your mother had so little trouble accommodating a human in this house. I am surprised to, that all of you have beds. I know that elves don't really sleep, like I do."

"We still need beds, you know," Belfire answered laughing. "Leaning against a tree, or laying on the ground is fine on the road, but it is nice to lay on a proper bed to rest."

"That's true I suppose," Blazewind replied yawning," I can't argue with that point."

"You should get some sleep," Belfire said, heading for the doorway of the room.

"Good night then," Blazewind said. She began to undo her long red braids.

"You look nice with your hair down," Belfire said "You should leave it down sometimes."

"You really think so," Blazewind replied. "I suppose I could."

"Good night then," Belfire said, leaving her alone in his sisters' bedroom. She changed into the nightgown that Aliora had found for her to wear. Climbing into bed that night, Blazewind knew that her life was changing for the better. For the first time since Jamis had died and the group of bards she had traveled with, had gone their separate ways, she had something that she had in the back of her mind, always wanted, even if she would have never admitted it to herself – A real family.

Blazewind climbed out of bed in th morning, after the best sleep she had had in ages, and got dressed quickly. She walked to the kitchen, then into the common room, which she had not yet been shown. Finding the house empty, she climbed down the tree, and to the leaf covered ground of the thick woods. She took note of how lovely the place looked in daylight. Soon, she saw Belfire, sitting with his family in a small space between the trees, eating rolls, and drinking tea. Wearing the dress that she had kept in the bottom of her traveling bag, her red hair flowing loose in the slight wind, she hurried over to join her lover, and her soon to be in laws.

The End.

**Well, there you have it, readers. The end of 'A Bards Tale.' I hope that everyone likes happy endings. Please review if you would like, and if you have enjoyed reading this story, why not read my other ones, and review those. It is good to be done with this story, although I will miss it as well. Thank you to my loyal reviewers, who gave some good feed back and advice, which I tried to use, as much as I could. **


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